To Light The Dragonfires
by Hatake Puppy
Summary: The Oblivion Gates are closed & Nirn is safe thanks to their new emperor, but his sacrifice has deeply affected the Champion once at his side. And without a Dragonborn to rule, the Elder Council is in distress. But not anyone- even the Champion herself- was prepared for the legacy & the blessing that the gods' had given to them all. Martin X Hero of Kvatch
1. Prologue

_The Imperial City was in chaos. The clouds and sky swirled in deathly colors of black, orange, and red. The daedra were spilling the blood of her brothers in armor and terrorizing the civilians as they fled to their homes._

_Then everything went black. Her heart pounded in the background of the darkness._

_The giant beast loomed over the towers, his red eyes glaring down at her. His roar was spine curling. It made everyone shake in the knees._

_Everything was black again; her heart still beating in her head._

_His face was sullen; eyes showed he had something in mind, but she wasn't going to like it. She could still smell his scent as she brought her face closer to his. Those icy blue eyes were pouring into her own, filling her heart with the feelings they shared. Then her heart began to ache with pain as his lips were moving, but no words were coming out. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her beating heart._

_Then black again._

_The giant daedric beast clashed with a fire dragon in a loud and angry fury. The dragon taking its blows, the beast taking his as they both crashed down into the temple floor and back up again. Her vision blurred and flashed in and out each time the dragon roared from the blows._

_Black again. Her heartbeat became more rapid, her stomach tightened, and her head began to spin._

_Her vision came back slowly as the dragon's wings began to envelop its body and started to tuck its head into its chest. The body was freezing to stone and she never took her eyes away from the dragon's own. Sound finally came, but it was cries of pure sorrow. It was her own voice; her own cries... her own overwhelming grief._

_The world began to spin and shake as the sky came crashing down on her..._

* * *

Tala awoke suddenly from her sleep and sat upright, realizing that she was safe in her warm bed under the roof of her shack on the Waterfront. It was still late at night, since she could hear the crickets chirping outside her window. She put her hands over her face to try and rid herself of the nightmare when she realized there were tears running down her face, yet again. She wiped her hands across her cheeks and down her neck to dry her face.

Once again, the memory of that day had haunted her in her dreams. It had only been two weeks since the City had witnessed the upheaval of Mehrunes Dagon and their new emperor sacrificing his life to vanquish the daedric prince and protect the people. Before all of this, she was a young maiden that had struggled to make a name for herself, and one that day she assisted the emperor in this unforgettable battle and was declared the Champion of Cyrodiil. The man she fought side by side with was declared as the greatest emperor in history for his sacrifice. What was left of him was resting peacefully inside the Temple of the One.

Nirn was safe from Oblivion now, but the scars of the Crisis were still healing. The damage done by the daedra was nearly fixed in the other major cities and the destruction in the Imperial City was still being repaired. Another month, and no one would have ever guessed that daedra had stormed their streets and ravaged their homes.

Tala also sustained her own wounds that day, but nothing Restoration magic didn't solve. Although magic and time had healed her physical scars, it would never heal the scars in her mind... and in her heart.

She stayed up until sleep overcame her again, then she laid back down and tried to get some rest. She had to get up and let the people in the Imperial City give her their praises that they had been signing since the end of the Crisis. She was their Champion now; it wouldn't be right to avoid them when all they wanted to do was express their gratitude to her for saving the city. She wanted recognition and now she had it. She only wished that she could accept the recognition without feeling so heartbroken over it.

* * *

**A/N-** Okay, so this is the first time in a long time that I've tried to write a story and this has been running through my head for months, so I figured I'd give it a try. Reviews are more than welcome. I will take a negative comment followed by an idea, but please no flamming.


	2. Tala

Tala was an odd young girl, but then again, she was odd her whole life. She was a native of High Rock, born and raised there by her parents. Her father, Celestin was an alchemist, his skills in healing exceeded the expectations of his teachers and he out bested his Breton brethren in the Restoration division. Her mother, Eveline was a priestess of Akatosh, and always instilled her beliefs in the God of Time to her daughter. Even though he followed his wife's teachings, Celestin was an avid believer of Talos. He grew up around a Nord that settled in High Rock and would tell stories of the great God of War- the mortal that became a Divine- and it wasn't long before Celestin spent his adult live as a follower. He was amazed at everything that Tiber Septim accomplished and believed that if a mere man could become one with the Divines, then there was no such thing as an impossible dream. So when he and his wife were expecting their first child, he would not accept any other name for his 'son' but Talos, in honor of his God hero.

The only problem was, Eveline gave birth to a girl, not the boy he had expected.

"A daughter?" He had said to his wife in sheer disappointment. "Then how can we name her after Talos and set her up for a life of accomplished aspirations if she's a girl? You can't name a girl Talos."

Her mother had thought about it for a long moment as she cradled her baby girl in her arms. "We can still name her after Talos." She had finally said with reassurance in her voice. "Just change it a little so it's befitting to a young woman."

"Oh? How?"

"How about Tala?" She asked sweetly. "It sounds like a feminine form of Talos, doesn't it?"

Her father obviously liked it; otherwise it would not have been her name. Her mother had told her that story once as a young girl, and Tala couldn't help but giggle. "Okay, so what about my hair?" She asked her mother.

"Well..." Her mother had said embarrassingly. "We're not entirely sure."

Tala was born with hair black as night, just like her father's... or so they thought the moment the midwife pulled her from her mother. Once her hair was dry, her parents realized that it was not black… but blue, like a flawless sapphire. They were all surprised and couldn't understand how this Breton child could have such oddly colored hair. Celestin was convinced later that it was from an experiment gone wrong when he was a young man. He had made this concoction in the alchemy lab that was supposed to increase his magic regeneration by tenfold; instead, it just turned him blue. His skin, fingernails, hair, and even sclera were blue. His fellow apprentices laughed at him for weeks until the potion finally wore off. But he wondered if there were some lingering effects from it in his genetic code. Eveline wasn't sure if the potion was to blame, but then again, there wasn't anyone in their ancestries that had blue hair. Celestin came from a long line of black and brunette and she was from a line of blonde, from sunny to strawberry, but blonde nevertheless. She was a sunny blonde herself, so how was their daughter blue haired? Her husband continued to blame his failed experiment, since there wasn't anything else to accuse.

But even though her hair was blue, so were her eyes. And they were a blue like nothing they've ever seen. It was like still azure waters with the sun shining down on them, sparkles and all. Her mother had pretty blue eyes, but they were nothing compared to Tala's. Despite growing up getting picked on by the other Breton children for her hair, every adult around couldn't help but comment on her eyes. As a young woman, her eyes got her many suitors, but none of them were to her liking. They were all the same, at least in her mind. She was always more interested in the foreigners; the Nord hunters traveling through with the Orcs, or the strapping young Imperials looking for something new to explore, to name a few examples.

In the process of chasing after the outsiders, she would intently sit and listen to their stories of home. While her affections were never returned, with each story the idea of traveling someplace else called to her like a force of nature. And when she was barely of age, she convinced her parents that she wanted to live in Cyrodiil. Celestin couldn't understand why Tala would want to leave High Rock and why just leaving the house wasn't good enough. Her mother however saw the look in her daughter's eyes. She knew Tala had dreams that were meant to be accomplished somewhere else. Eveline convinced her husband to let Tala go, and at nineteen years of age, she packed her bags and hopped on a wagon bound for the Imperial City.

A year passed living in the Imperial heartland and she tried her best to find work in the shops or the taverns. To her dismay, they all turned her down, but never said why. She was very lovely to look at; her cheekbones were medially set, her neckline smooth with no roundness, lips gentle with no strain in her smooth chin. Her figure was thin with the perfect hourglass shape. Her arms and legs looked slightly long for her 5'4" stature, but it was common for most Bretons. Her hair was shoulder length in front and was to her shoulder blades in the back; layered wavy bangs framing her face to give it an even more feminine look. The way she smiled warmly, it would reminded some people of the drawing of the Lady constellation that filled in the stars on their books, which coincidentally the Lady was her birth sign so she wasn't surprised when she was compared to it. Her eyes were just as exquisite and shining, as they were her whole life, which added to her radiance. The one thing that distracted people from truly looking at her in her full beauty was the color of her hair. No one had ever seen a blue-haired Breton before and there were too many judgmental people in various districts of the city. She was concerned at first that she was getting turned down from job offers because of her hair. And when one tavern owner said that he wasn't sure how people would take to a girl with blue hair, she knew it was the reason why.

When she wasn't trying to make end's meat, Tala took her frustration out on the trees in the woods. Mainly punching and kicking the trees until her knuckles and shins ached, but she didn't want to ruin the dagger she had strapped to her belt. She wasn't skilled at smithing enough to repair it if it was dull. The only time she did use it was when a bandit decided to attack her out on the road. Taking out her frustration by fighting enhanced her combat skills enough that she became more than just a pretty face. Which was half the battle out in this new world.

She tried again to find work in the Imperial City for another few months until she gave up. Helping out the townspeople outside of the walls was fun, but she was running out of coins and supplies and didn't have real work keep her going. With a heavy heart, Tala sent a letter to her parents back home, warning them that she would return home as soon as she could. But before she sent out her letter, she received grave news from home. Her parents were dead, killed in a raid on the town. Her father was killed instantly along with his fellow alchemists and her mother died with the other priests as they protected the women and children in the chapel.

Her village was a ghost town now with no loved ones left alive. There was no point in returning home.

Tala had cried for days, and when she couldn't afford to stay at the inn any longer, she quietly packed her things and checked out before all her coin was gone and the innkeeper threw her out. She now lived on the streets until she couldn't afford a single coin to pay for bread. Before she became a beggar, she tried one risky option; to make a living by taking care of the local bandit problem outside the city. Problem was, the bandits were too much for her. When she went out in cheap fur armor and her dagger, the first bandits she found laughed and then took her down. They were seconds away from possibly killing her- or worse- when the Imperial guards surrounded them and captured them all. One of the guards knelt down to Tala as she tried to steady herself, but the pain from the blows were too much to bear, and she fell back to the ground and the world went black.

After that, she woke up in a cell. Her bag was gone and so were her clothes. She was now in rough spun tunic and matching pants and footwraps. The guards must have mistaken her for the bandits because she was in fur armor- same as them- and decided to lock her up. She didn't like being in jail, but it was better than being dead.

She wasn't in the cell long before Imperial guards had opened the door and backed her into a corner as they led someone important to the back. It didn't take her long to realize that whoever the man was, he was someone of great importance. And to her shock, the man stopped to look at her. _Her_. Not just her hair, but also her eyes, her face, and everything else about her.

"You... I've seen you..." The man said to her. "Let me see your face..." She had then tentatively stepped closer. "You are the one from my dreams. Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength..."

"W-What's going on?" She mustered the nerve to ask.

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads through your cell."

That's when she remembered. "Speaking of which... why am I in jail?"

He had smiled at her very warmly."Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we may meet. As for what you have done... it does not matter. That is not what you will be remembered for."

She tilted her head, realizing that he looked familiar. But she decided to ask the obvious, anyhow. "Who are you?"

"I am your emperor, Uriel Septim. By the grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are a citizen of Tamriel, and you, too, shall serve her in your own way."

Tala wasn't able to wrap her mind around what he said fast enough to ask more questions, for the walls dropped down to reveal a hidden passageway, and the emperor was hurried into them by his guards without another word. They had left the passage open, and assumed she would stay put. But after what Uriel had said to her, she couldn't deny the option to discover more. That was why she left High Rock. Her soul felt like it was meant to do something great. This must have been it... and there was only way to find out for sure.

Tala followed the emperor down the route from afar, looting armor and a good sword from the dead bodies left behind. At some point, the guards caught her following, but Uriel allowed her to come closer and be apart of the group. When they reached more gates to safe passageways, they were attacked, and the guards left them alone. The emperor then turned to her, a grave expression crossing his face.

"I can go no further. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. He must not have the Amulet of Kings!"

Tala looked at him in slight confusion. "What? You're Amulet? Then... t-this is g-goodbye?"

"This is where my journey ends. For you though, the road is long and dangerous. Now, give me your hand." He then handed her his precious possession- the Amulet of Kings- and confided in her with one more thing. "Take the Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him... and close shut the jaws of Oblivion."

Before she could say anymore, a hooded figure in red came out from a secret passageway and put a knife into the emperor's back, killing him right before her eyes. That hooded figure was a member of what she learned later to be of the Mythic Dawn.

Her whole life had changed for the better that day. With help from Baurus, she escaped the sewers and back out into the forest, bound for the Imperial City once again to sell her loot for some coin and off to find the man that Emperor Uriel asked her to find. She was to take the Amulet of Kings to Jauffre, and to help her find Uriel's last living heir. Considering the fact that she couldn't stop a bandit raid, she wasn't sure if she could handle anything more dangerous down the road. So she spent a few weeks toying with lone bandits and packs of wild animals until she felt strong enough to confront any stronger danger that came her way.

Tala had also spent some time admiring the Amulet of Kings. She had read about it in a book at some point while living in Cyrodiil, and she never thought that there would be a day where she would hold it in her hands. When she sat alone in a room at an inn, she inspected the large red diamond in the middle of the eight small ones as it shined like it had a light inside. But guessing from the tale of its creation, it was possible that there really was a fire inside. It was the flaming blood of Akatosh burning in the bright red stone. After spending her whole life paying to Akatosh by her mother's side, having a piece of his life's blood resting physically in her hands was almost enthralling.

She didn't want to loose sight of it for the late emperor's sake, and many times she tried to wear it around her neck just so that she _knew_ it was kept safe. But every time she tried, it seemed to just slip through her fingers and fall back onto her lap. She finally came to the conclusion that the Amulet was trying to tell her something; that it was not hers to wear. Only the Dragonborn has the right to wear the Amulet, and that it was her duty to just keep it safe at any other cost. So Tala wrapped it in cloth and tucked it in a tiny satchel nestled in her chest wrap, that way any bandits couldn't steal it, should she be ransacked. Even if she had to deal with a pervert trying to grope her, he would never find it with the way she tucked the Amulet in there.

When she was more skilled in combat, better at her weapons and magika craft, and had a better handle on the land, she finally tracked down Jauffre at Weynon Priory, ready to discover more of her fate... the fate that the emperor had entrusted to her.


	3. Reward

Tala leaned against the front wall of the Armory as she waited for the smith to get her delivery. She was dressed in her favorite outfit: a russet felt outfit with the green skirt and a light blue long-sleeved tunic underneath to cover her bare arms. She felt the need to do so after spending the past year building her strength and now her arms were fairly buff; certain shirts that were bare armed were no longer flattering to her the way they used to when she was a dainty little girl. The sun made her hair gleam like a gem and her face glow. To the passers by, she looked radiant, so serene resting there against the wall. But truthfully, she was exhausted. She hadn't had a good night's rest since before the invasion and her dreams were still plagued by its memory. And she was starting to develop some nausea when she ate, but at the same time she felt like she couldn't stop eating. It made food a mixed blessing in her mind nowadays. A stress response; she remembered feeling this way once when she began to hit her teens years and went on a brief growth spurt.

Finally the blacksmith came out with her package. Light Imperial Dragon Armor, courtesy of High Chancellor Ocato for everything she had done. She took the armor gratefully and slowly walked back to her shack on the waterfront without another word. And as expected, she got many thanks of gratitude from the people on her way back.

"Look! It's the Champion of Cyrodiil!" She heard a boy say to one of his friends.

"Her?" His friend asked in utter disbelief. "She's young enough to be my sister."

"Yeah, but she fought off the daedra and helped the new emperor save us all from Oblivion. She's a hero!"

Tala stopped and turned around to look at the boys as they talked. A few other children gathered around as they continued to rave about her and the Blades. Some of the boys even vowed to become Imperial Guards or Blades when they were of age. She began to turn away until she heard one of the boys mention the emperor's name. Just hearing his name made her freeze in her tracks and the world slow down to a standstill. His face was still fresh in her mind, and so was everything he had done in the last few months they had been together up until the moment of his crowning... and the moment of his sacrifice.

The world came back into normal speed and she shook her mind from the thought. She went to take another step towards her goal until she heard a little girl shout, "Just you wait! I'm going to be just like Lady Tala!"

She turned to look as all the boys laughed at her and began to walk away. She was an Imperial; her hair as brown as a bear's pelt and her skin was just as tan as the rest of the people in her race. Even though the other boys all laughed at her, she balled up her fists and shouted wordlessly at them. The minute she took off after them, the boys went running. Tala couldn't help but laugh softly to herself. It was amusing how those boys didn't think she was a threat until she showed them just how much they were wrong. Tala had to pull very similar moves earlier that year. When the wounded men at Kvatch laughed at her and didn't think she could handle a pack of daedra running around the town, she just clenched her fist around her Elven sword and marched right into the Oblivion gate. Guess who was laughing after that?

Tala had no choice but to make some small talk with a few people on her way back home. She had good conversations with people like Jensine whom was on her day off, and Ormil from the Bloated Float. She had to force a smile when one of the guards gave her personal praise on her "act of heroism". She played nice the past two days she was here and today she just wanted some peace and quiet.

As she shut the door to her shack, she immediately began packing her bags to head back home to Skingrad. She couldn't stay in the capital any longer. Skingrad was her true home. She had too many acquaintances in the Guilds, civilized business with the shops, and Sinderion to talk alchemy with and collect Nirnroot for. Plus, it was such a safe and courteous town that no one was flooding her with comments and praises the way people in the Imperial City were. And even though they were all sweet to her now, for some reason the vibes still didn't feel right to her. It was probably because the idea of her hair was still a stigma amongst some of the upper echelon. And besides, her home in Skingrad was five times the size of her little house on the waterfront. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic in this shack.

It was going to be a long walk to Skingrad, but she could handle anything that crossed her way. She was out her door and getting ready to leave the city by going across the Waterfront's bridge when a thought crossed her mind. She had been in the City for three days now and she never once made a trip to the Temple of the One. There was a chance that the temple would be full of crowds marveling at the brand new statue of Akatosh overpowering the room as the architects rebuilt the new ceiling piece by piece. The thought of crowds made her uncomfortable, since the statue was what she wanted to see too. But it wasn't because of its symbolism, the way the citizens wanted to see it. She wanted to see her close friend one last time and that magnificent dragon was all that was left of him. But today was not the right day. Tala took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. And with that, she walked around the Waterfront, alongside the City wall, over the bridge and onto the Gold Road to home.


	4. Martin

"_His name is Martin. __He serves Akatosh in the Chapel in the city of Kvatch__."_

That was the first time she heard his name. And after closing the gate and battling the remaining daedra, she went into the chapel to seek him out. She asked a townsman safely seeking refuge inside and he pointed her in the direction of "Brother Martin".

He was about 5'8" with an athletic body and thick bones, but that came natural with having Imperial blood. His shoulders were somewhat broad and he carried them proudly, despite looking exhausted. His eyes were bright river blue and they made her heart leap the longer she gazed at them. Cheekbones were medially set with a slight shadow of stubbles around the jawbone, he was a little round under the jaw but that had to come with age. His wavy brown hair that barely brushed his shoulders was a little messy in the front, and a few locks brushing his forehead and temple area were the closest things to bangs. Martin was very handsome. Too bad he was a priest and about twenty years her senior.

She had decided to walk around the pews and watched from the side as he went to as many people as he could find, making sure they were all safe and heading to the camps outside the city, each one he gave the most softest and sincere smile and the greatest words of comfort. He really cared about the people of the town and must've taken his oaths seriously. He didn't seem to pay attention to Tala watching from the other side of the chapel, and slowly made his way back to the doors to speak to the other priests as the people slowly left to seek better refuge. Tala decided that she had to approach him soon, but she turned to look at the alter in the middle of the room instead. The fact that she was in a temple dedicated to Akatosh reminded her of her days playing in the temple back home in High Rock while her mother tended to the lost and wounded. When the temple floors were quiet, she would take Tala to the alter and teach her about the blessings of each Divine, then they would finish the day by praying to the God of Time. She greatly missed her family and her home, but Cyrodiil was her home now. She had chosen to make her home in this country, and the emperor had chosen her to protect Tamriel. The home she left behind was also in ruins. She had to remember that. But the memories still remained.

Tala walked over to the alter and knelt down on its step. With her hands resting on the stone and her head bowed, she began to pray. She prayed for Akatosh to see her through this, to guide her on this path, to protect her when things seemed too much. In the midst of the prayers, she was brought back to her memories, and a soft smile came across her face, making her look so peaceful as she knelt there.

It was then where Martin had turned around and caught a glimpse of the warrior kneeling at the alter. He had seen the stranger come in, but he had been so busy with tending to the townspeople that he didn't bother to address the stranger. But one of the farmers gently tapped him on the arm and informed Martin that the lovely young woman had not only saved Kvatch from the daedra, but that she was also looking for him.

She had her eyes closed and a smile still on her face when he came walking over to get a glimpse of her. All he could see was her face underneath the Elven helmet. But her soft smile was all he needed to see.

"I heard about how you helped the Guard drive the daedra back. Well done." He said to the stranger softly.

The sound of his voice was intoxicating to her ears. Tala was startled for a brief second before she opened her eyes and became face to face with the illegitimate heir of Uriel Septim.

"One of the civilians said you were looking for me?" He asked with a welcoming smile.

She blinked for a few more seconds before standing up and getting a straight face. "Yes, I was. I've been sent by the Emperor to find you."

Martin's face went from welcoming to cautious. He stared for a long moment before asking calmly, "The Emperor is dead. Who are you? What do you really want with me?"

She sighed softly through her nose and she gave him a warm, gentle smile. "My name is Tala. You are Martin, right? You're the priest of Akatosh?"

He blinked and looked at her blankly. "Yes. I'm a priest. Do you need a priest? I don't think _I'll_ be much help to you. I'm... having trouble understanding the gods right now. If all this is part of a divine plan... I'm not sure I want to have anything to do with it..."

"Well, actually there is a plan..."

"What plan? What are you talking about?" The look in his eyes showed his faithlessness and his face began to show his frustration as he continued, "I prayed to Akatosh all through that terrible night, but no help came. Only more daedra. What can you possibly know that would help me make sense of this?"

That's when she had to reveal her reasons for why she was here. She took a few steps towards him so that only he could hear what she had next to say. "You're Emperor Uriel's son."

Martin looked at her as if she sprouted a second head. "Emperor Uriel Septim? You think the emperor is my father? No, you must have the wrong man. I am a priest of Akatosh. My father was a farmer."

Tala sighed. She could understand why he would deny it- that news would seem pretty farfetched to her if she were in his position, too. "He knew you were in danger. That's why he sent me to find you."

Martin opened his mouth to voice his doubt in her words, but he stopped when he looked at her eyes. He studied her face and her eyes for a moment before he realized maybe she was telling the truth. "You spoke to the Emperor before he died? And he told you to find me?"

"Yes. Why would I lie to you?" She asked him with as much sincerity as she could stress upon her voice.

"I don't know. It's strange... I think you might actually be telling the truth." His face slowly showed his shock the more he allowed her words to sink in. He briefly shut his eyes and sighed before he focused back on her. "What does this mean? What do you want from me?"

"I need you to follow me to Weynon Priory. Jauffre, the priest there, he knows more than I do about what's going on. If you're willing to follow me... we can both learn more about what to do from this point." She could see that he was thinking long and hard about what was going on, so she gave him a warm smile. "I understand how you're feeling. I thought it was pretty crazy when emperor Uriel spoke to me and entrusted me with his Amulet and the secret of your existence. He seemed to know that I would be doing this for the sake of Tamriel. This is not easy, but come with me and keep an open mind. I've been keeping mine open through all of this and it has opened my eyes in the process. ...Just trust me."

He was still quiet for a moment, still studying her face. She never had a man stare at her like that before for any length of time, and she tried not to have her discomfort show. Finally, Martin said, "You destroyed the Oblivion Gate. Gave them hope. You helped them drive the daedra back. ...Yes; I'll come with you to Weynon Priory and hear what Jauffre has to say. Lead on." And with that, he followed her out of the chaple.

They both stopped at the camp to make sure the survivers were as safe as they could be before they walked the Gold Road. To travel on that major roadway was the safest choice to head to the Priory, or at least it was for Tala. Martin was quiet in the initial couple of miles. When they reached the fork in the road- Skingrad to their left and Anvil to their right- Tala suddenly stopped and began rumaging through her bags. No food, no water, no potions, no tools to repair her armor. She used everything she had to keep herself alive in Oblivion and she wasn't going to make the long trip towards Chorrol without proper supplies.

"Damn it." She whispered under her breath. Then she said aloud, "I'm sorry to say, but we have to make a detour to Anvil."

"Anvil's farther from our destination. Why do we need to go there?" He asked dully.

"I have no supplies. Food is gone. Potions, I used up. And I need a hammer to fix my armor and weapons. I don't want to go any further without the proper supplies. I need to find a major city to go to and since Skingrad is too far, Anvil will have to do."

Martin narrowed his eyes at her and frowned. "That wasn't very smart of you to come unprepared..."

Tala narrowed her eyes back at him. "I was prepared... at least I had enough supplies in my bag when I went in. I've never encountered daedra before, so excuse me if I got knocked down enough to the point where I had to burn through my reserves. Just follow me to Anvil for a night and we'll make haste first thing in the morning, okay?"

He gave her a chiding look before he sighed and nooded. "I've put myself in your hands. I trust you'll do what's best."

"It'll just be for the night." She assured him.

She could tell that he seemed a little distraught, since he simply followed her without another word, down the path to Anvil. The silence all the way there was maddening, but she tried to leave it alone, to just leave him in silence.

"So how did you close the Gate?" Martin finally asked once they were halfway to the town.

Tala looked over her shoulder as she walked. "It wasn't easy. The trick was to remove the sigil stone at the top that was controlling the gate. Once I took the stone, the gate shut down. Closing the gate is pretty simple; it's the monsters I had to kill to get to the thing."

She couldn't see it, but a vague look crossed his face. "You've never seen daedra before, yet you risked your life all because the emperor sent you to find me. Exactly what made you decide to do this?"

"I felt it was right to honor Emperor Uriel's request. He gave me the Amulet of Kings and put his faith in me to carry out his plan. Jauffre already warned me that I may be walking into horrible danger, but after what I've been through in the past two years, some danger is the best medicine in the world for me. Yeah I may seem like a fragile little thing, but I hit hard and I'm not afraid to kill you if you try to hurt me." She was quiet for a moment before she stopped abruptly and turned around to face him with a guilty smile. "Um... that last part sort of crossed the line. Forgive me..."

Martin stopped also and merely blinked, confused at her comment.

Tala sighed and looked down at her feet. "I'm not normally that arrogant. It just seems that as I get better at fighting, it makes me feel pretty good to know that I can take care of myself. When I first came to Cyrodiil, I spent almost two years feeling helpless. Now to be able to protect myself as well as others, and to be able to find my purpose in life, my sense of pride tends to swell a little larger than normal. That last statement I said came off too smug, and that's not how I normally am."

Martin just watched her for a moment before deciding maybe he should say something. "I'll admit how you said that was a little unrefined. Not very lady-like, but then again, you don't fit the image of a lady."

Tala took her eyes off the ground and started straight at him. His face was neutral, and with the way he just looked at her, she felt like she had gotten into juvenile trouble. Once again, he made her feel uncomfortable, like she should blush and look away. She began to wonder if she should've even said anything at all.

"Of course," he began to add as he walked past her, "Its not every day you see a young girl slay a bunch of daedra and close an Oblivion Gate either. If I were you, I guess I would brag about it too. So don't apologize. I'll let you know if I thought you crossed a line, okay?"

Tala blinked in surprise and just watched him walk down the road. _Wait, did that just happen? He didn't take offense to that comment? Whew, what a relief._ She thought in astonishment.

When he was getting too far from her side, she chased back after him and took the lead again. With Martin being behind her, it made Tala feel more at ease. Even though he was fairly laid back, his gaze was too intense. It wasn't with sexual interest in the way a handful of men had looked at her before, but more like he was curious about her. He looked at her as if he was trying to figure her out. It was making her blush just thinking about it, and being ahead of him meant he couldn't see it.


	5. Your Hair

Tala had still been leading the way to Anvil, both silent as the wind once again. But now that they were at a safe distance from Kvatch, she had gotten tired of wearing her helmet when there wasn't a need for it. It was making her head itch, too. So she stopped and dropped her bag. She reached for helmet, then quickly stopped and held her breath. Her hair had been up in the helmet the whole time, so Martin never saw it at the first encounter. What would he say when he saw her hair? Would he be shocked? Would he make a condescending comment? Would he laugh? She was about to tell Martin what she was going to do when he stepped ahead of her and put his hand on her shoulder. His eyes were scanning the forest around them.

"Sense that?" He asked warily.

She looked around and was about to tell him 'no', then she heard muffled footsteps from behind the trees. "Highwaymen."

They both went for their weapons, but the bandits came rushing out of the trees and surrounded them in the middle of the road. There were six, and they enclosed them in a two feet wide circle so quickly that they couldn't strike one opponent without getting killed instantly by another one. Tala and Martin stayed still, figuring it was the smartest thing to do right at that moment. All of them were snickering at their two victims, knowing that they felt trapped. A Nord with red hair cut tight to his head made his way into the center of the circle to address them both. He was obviously the leader. He flashed them a wicked grin and then his eyes drifted over to Tala.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" He said huskily. "Such a pretty thing. Too bad you have that bulky armor on. I could relieve you of that armor and take a real good look at you... you know you want it."

"Come one step towards me and I cut off the part that makes you a man." Tala growled, the heel of her hand resting on the pommel of her sword.

The bandits laughed and their leader grinned wider. "I like a feisty woman. Gives me a challenge. Let's see just how well that armor will protect you." Then he turned to his men. "You heard the lady. It seems they refuse to surrender their belongings. Kill the priest; capture her if you can. A good lookin woman is just as satisfactory as the coin."

The circle got smaller as they stepped in closer. Tala gripped her sword and began to pull it out of the scabbard until one of the bandits behind her put a dagger to her throat and grabbed the sword.

"You might as well give in to us." He whispered in her ear. "We've got you surrounded. If you don't put up a fight and just give us everything you have, our boss will be kind to you. Heck, if you are to Loki's satisfaction, he may even spare the priest, here."

She turned her head just enough to look at her captor in the corner of her eye. "I've got news for you. I'd rather go back into Oblivion and be eaten by daedra than have your ugly boss use me like some roadside whore." She practically shouted.

"What did that bitch call me?" Loki the leader roared.

"She called you ugly, boss." The bandit next to him said with a twisted smile- he was trying not to laugh. Loki reacted by punching him hard in the jaw, sending the lesser man straight to the ground.

All the robbers stared at their fallen comrade, giving Martin all he needed to strike. His hands glowed a red-hot light with a spell, then he threw his hands up to the bandits in front of him and fire blasted out in one large wave, sending four of them ten feet backwards. The bandit holding Tala had let down his guard, so she grabbed her sword back front him and drove it into his chest before he had the chance to fight back. She dispatched the one right next to him with ease. Of the four that Martin blasted away, Loki and another subordinate stood back up and dusted themselves off. The other two were either running or rolling around on the ground in an attempt to keep from burning alive. They pulled out their weapons and came charging after them. Tala clashed swords with the bandit leader, but the other one swung at her back, the blade chipping her Elven armor. Martin quickly put his dagger to the younger bandit's throat, allowing Tala to drive Loki away from the other fight and keep it one on one. She managed to put him up against a tree and went to execute a clean kill... until she heard Martin yelp.

The bandit he held his dagger to had pulled a knife of his own and jabbed it into Martin's side. When Martin's hollered from the pain, his grip wavered and the bandit began slashing at his throat. Martin had no choice but to pull away if he wanted to avoid any fatal hits. Tala had turned to pay attention briefly to what was happening behind her, and Loki took the opportunity to strike her helmet with the guard of his sword. She staggered backwards from the blow and didn't steady herself fast enough before he attacked again. She finally brought her shield up to him and became stable on her feet after a few hits. She felt like an idiot for letting the highwayman take the upper hand like that. Now she was back to where she started.

Martin had begun to heal the wound in his side in an attempt to stop the bleeding, giving his bandit time to switch from the dagger to the axe on his belt and come charging. When the axe swung upward, Martin saw the opportunity to finish the fight, and lunged at the waist while it was vulnerable. He stuck the dagger into the fur armor, and the blade sent lightning through the bandit's body and straight out his back. One beauty to a Dagger of Sparks: it did more damage than a regular dagger. The bandit buckled from the pain and then fell flat to the ground. Martin went to finish addressing the wound when he heard wordless screams of anger. He then remembered the bandits that were on fire. He turned a second too late, and a sword struck his arm, laying open both the sleeve of his robe and his bicep. He blocked another attack by bringing his dagger up and clashing with the robber's weapon. It gave him a chance to leap back a few feet and protect himself by conjuring up another Destruction spell. He put his hand up to the scorched man a few feet front of him and his hands glowed white with magic.

"Oh no you don't!" The bandit shrieked. Then he held up his sword and charged forward. "I'm not getting hit by one of your magic tricks agai-"

Before he could finish the word, the spell completed and Martin flicked his wrist. He shot an ice spike right at the bandit's chest and the frozen spear hit its mark, going straight through. The bandit stood only arm's length when he dropped his sword and fell to the ground, eyes wider than saucers.

Martin sighed with relief, and then glanced over to see that the remaining follower that had been on fire was lying on the ground, smoking and motionless. Good; one less to worry about. He noticed the leader was still chipping away at Tala's armor, but Martin figured if she wanted help, she'd ask for it. So he took a moment to tend to his wounds.

However, at that point Tala was getting frustrated. Not really at the crook hacking away at her armor, but more at herself. Just four hours ago, she closed an Oblivion Gate and killed countless daedra, and she now can't even take down a sleazy barbarian? It was time to get this over with already. She yelled wordlessly at the highwayman and put her shield down so she could take a big long swing at him and hoped it would slice him in half. But at the same time Loki swung his blade upwards at Tala's head, hoping the blade would slice her face clean open from jaw to forehead. Instead, both saw their attacks coming and faltered in strength and intention. Tala's blade only ripped the man's leather cuirass and put a half-inch gash deep in his chest. Loki's sword only scratched her cheek, but enough of the blade hit the inner edge of her helmet, knocking it easily off her head, sending it into the air and making her hair spill into the wind for a brief moment. It eventually fell into her face like a silk drape.

The bandit leader stopped attacking her and stared in bewilderment. "W-what... in the name of Oblivion... is wrong with your hair?"

Tala looked at him through her mess of cerulean locks and bared her teeth angrily. She then took two long strides, and buried her blade into his stomach while he was vulnerable; pushing hard enough that the tip of the sword was sticking out of his back. She put her face into his and glowered at him with a murderous glare in her eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with my hair. What's seems to be wrong with your face?" She growled at him.

The blood came up into his mouth and out the corners when he snarled; teeth painted in crimson. "Only a freak has hair like that!"

"Don't call me a freak." She hissed, and she yanked her sword out in one fluid motion.

He dropped to his knees and spat at her feet, the blood splattering on her boots. With his last choking breath Loki provoked the inevitable by saying in a childish manner, "Freak!"

Tala then swung her blade in a perfect horizontal motion and severed the leader's head from his shoulders. She then stuck her sword in the ground and pressed her forehead on the pommel before shutting her eyes and letting out a heavy breath. Tala hated when people called her a freak. She could handle the teasing about the hair in general, but when people called her names, she took them to heart. It felt good to behead the bastard for calling her that and now she could forget it happened and move on.

That's when she remembered Martin.

Tala looked up and around to find Martin was only a few feet away and staring at her. It wasn't a neutral stare, but it wasn't a shocked stare either. Instead it was the same gaze he had been giving her for most of the trip... like she intrigued him. She couldn't hold back her blush this time and she let him see her cheeks fill with pink. Tala finally looked away and focused on pulling her hair away from her face. She couldn't keep her eyes on him anymore.

"Are you alright?" She asked timidly. "I heard you yell in pain earlier. Do you need to take a moment to heal any wounds?"

Martin kept staring until what she said finally sank into his head. "I did have a few wounds, but I already took care of them. The one on my side is still tender, but once we get to Anvil I can get a potion to heal the aches."

She finally found the courage to look at him again, trying to see if he was lying. She removed her Elven gauntlets and walked over until she had been inches away from his face. She then began looking over his wounds. He had done a good job at knitting the flesh back together with Restoration magic. No scar, but a bruising process was going on in its place. If she had a healing potion for him to drink, there wouldn't be a bruise or any pain. Another reason why she was glad she decided to go to Anvil regardless of the fact that it made their trip to Weynon Priory longer. She would rather have gone to the closest town and got supplies and worried about time later, than see if they could get killed on the way there without supplies. This had been a perfect example to prove her point.

She also noticed that his robes had been shredded in certain places- the one on his hip and a long rip down his sleeve with a fresh scar in the visible skin. That wound obviously took a lot of work to heal if he couldn't get the scar to fade with magic. He also had a tear in his robes across his collarbone area, but whether or not it had come with a cut to his skin, she could never tell. As she inspected his torn clothes, she had eventually looked up to notice that Martin was staring straight into her eyes, and not her hair. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she became lost in his gaze. He had the most gorgeous bedroom eyes she'd ever seen. Sadly there was no smile to complete the charm; his face was all business. Whatever was going through his mind, she was never going to know unless she asked. Tala had to snap out of it quickly.

"You need armor." She finally said as she walked away and began searching the bandits. "I don't care if its simple leather armor, it'll be better than those robes."

Martin looked at his attire for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I'll look at what the shops have to offer in the morning. The sun will set soon. Something tells me that everyone will be closed by the time we enter the city."

"Too risky. What if we get hit again? Grab something off the bandits to wear for now."

"Absolutely not!" He spat in disgust. "If you wish to sell their belongings, I understand, they were going to do the same with our things. However, I will not wear their armor that's soaked in their blood. _And_ their armor has been burned or ripped apart anyway, making it no better than my clothes. I will get new armor in Anvil, and that's that."

She sighed and nodded. "Fine. Let me see if there's anything useful on the bandits and we'll keep going."

Tala found some food and a few stamina potions among the dead bodies. She slid her sword into its scabbard, put her helmet back on without bothering to tuck her hair inside, and lead the way again. The road became uneventful after the raid, and as they were almost to the stables, she looked up at the sky to admire the colors of the sunset that were beginning to form. After the day she had, Tala was looking forward to a warm bed, fresh food, and some safety inside functioning city walls. She was going to need that comfort for a little while, incase the scene in Kvatch was only the beginning of something more horrendous. She was going to find out later that it was.

Martin had never said a word, not even a cough or a sigh. Tala could feel the tension building between them... or maybe that was just her unease. He still hadn't uttered a single thing about her hair. She was going to reveal it to him anyway whether or not the group of robbers showed up. But even then she still would've been on edge to hear his response. Would he still have been this silent if she had just taken off her helmet and kept on walking?

_He didn't even look shocked._ She thought curiously._ I doubt he's ever seen a girl with blue hair. He hasn't even said anything about Kvatch since we left the place. Is he all right back there? Maybe I should say something. No, I should wait til morning..._

At full sundown, they finally made their way into the city where they paid for their own rooms at The Count's Arms and got cozy in their own beds. She spent a few minutes tending to her bruises and couldn't help but wonder what was going through Martin's mind and why he hadn't said much during the whole trip. Maybe he was traumatized over what happened in Kvatch and didn't really want to talk. Yeah, that had to be it...

When sleep began to overcome her, she decided to let it go. After the wounds were healed, she finally crawled into bed, shut her eyes, and drifted off into sleep.


	6. Anvil

**A/N- **I apologize for how slow I was to get this chapter going. Difficult to get started on it without a computer for two weeks. I am so thankful for the reviews and favorites! I hope you bear with me in these next few chapters as I try to get the storyline rolling here. Enjoy this next chapter! Its a little longer than I wanted, but I'm happy with the result.

* * *

Anvil and Kvatch were the two cities that she never traveled to before. After falling in love with Skingrad, she never really thought about venturing further down the Gold Road. She had just seen Kvatch in a devastating light, wishing she could have seen it in its glory days. Now she was about to explore Anvil. The town looked pleasant enough.

Tala had tucked her hair into her helmet, that way no one could make a fuss over it. She also kept her armor on while she stayed in town, figuring she was only here long enough to buy supplies and some new armor for Martin. No need to get comfy. She knocked on his door at 8 am, hoping he was awake. When there wasn't a response, she came downstairs and discovered that he had already checked out and left her a note at the front desk.

_Tala,_

_I've gone to find the local armory and get some suitable attire. Find what you need and we'll meet back at the Inn._

She had a strange feeling that he was going to be up before she did, but that didn't stop her from letting out an exasperated sigh. As she walked out of the Count's Arms and began searching for the alchemy shop, she wondered if Martin meant what he said in the note, or did he say that as an excuse and bolted because of what happened yesterday?

Every person that had ever seen her hair had always reacted. _Always_. Some of them didn't even have to say anything; they'd simply stare at it as if she had a scamp sitting on top of her head. She had to clear her throat or snap at them to get their attention. The one person who didn't seem to notice or care was a paranoid Bosmer in Skingrad. Boy, what a loony. Martin may have been feeling godless and shocked from what he's experienced in the past two days, but he was far from crazy.

No, wait a minute. Emperor Uriel never looked at her hair like it was something ugly, nor did he say it, or act like it bothered him. Maybe Martin was showing the Septim qualities that Uriel had shown to her. Maybe it really didn't worry him. She finally decided it was best not to let this whole thing eat her alive. She should just take the lack of reaction as a blessing and continue on with her life.

Tala searched the inner town and couldn't find the trader's shop. She finally gave up and asked a guard where to find it. He directed her out to the docks, where a few stores were residing on what they called the Gold Coast. She had bought her necessary supplies and made her way back inside the town walls when she overheard two guards talking about an all women gang that was robbing the men of the town. Tala found that quite interesting, so she asked the guards about it. They directed her to a Redguard woman named Maelona. She was slowly strolling down the heart of the city when she saw a Redguard woman sitting on the stone bench that was wrapped around the tree in the middle of the city. It didn't take a battle mage to notice that she seemed upset. Maybe that was her?

"Excuse me" Tala said as she approached the woman. "You wouldn't happen to be Maelona?"

"I am. How would you like to get my husband, Gogan, out of hot water?" She asked rather tetchily.

"Sure. What's he done?"

"Believe me, he'll need all the help he can get to worm his way out of this one. To think he'd fall for the gang's scheme... I could kill him!" She said, forcing out each word between her gritted teeth. She noticed Tala's blank stare and she went from angry to embarrassed. "I'm sorry... I'm rambling and you look confused. Let me explain."

"Its okay. Go on."

She was quiet for a brief moment, and then she began again. "These women in a gang use their wiles to lure men out to some remote location and rob them blind. Its been going on for some time now. The city guard hasn't done very much about it because frankly, the men who are robbed are so embarrassed, they don't want to report it. Take for example my good-for-nothing husband of mine, Gogan. He cared more about their charms than my own."

"I'm really sorry to hear about that. Really. But where do I come in?"

"When Gogan was... uh... with the women, they took something quite valuable from him." When Tala raised an eyebrow suspiciously, Maelona let out a sigh. "No... its not what you're thinking. He was carrying a precious family heirloom with him when he was lured out to their lair. It was a small ring given to him on our wedding day. The ring belonged to my mother, and has been in the family for generations. I'm willing to give you all the money I have to get it back. 100 gold. Can you help us?"

Tala felt really bad and wanted to help, but she promised Martin that they'd be off to Weynon Priory just as soon as she got supplies. This was delay them drastically and he wouldn't like it. "Well... I don't know... I'm here with an acquaintance and we're only staying in Anvil to get supplies."

Maelona sighed sadly. "I understand. Well, if it's all the same to you, please don't tell anyone about Gogan's indiscretion. If you change your mind, please let me know."

She began to walk away and with each step she took away from the poor woman, the more her conscience became clouded with guilt. She looked over at the Count's Arms just a few feet away from her. Martin wasn't waiting outside the door. Maybe he was inside? If Martin truly did run away, then she'd have all the time in the world to help Maelona out, now wouldn't she? But if he was waiting for her... and she told him she promised a local that she would help? Somehow she didn't think that would go over well with the Septim heir. But despite all the hostile attitudes she received from people about her hair, her soft heart never refused to help those strangers in need. Her mother always told her that good deeds lead to good things, and somehow Tala felt like the gods were telling her if she helped Maelona, it would lead to something good for her.

Tala finally spun around on her heels and walked up to Maelona. "I can't promise you anything, but I can assure you that if I can help, I will."

Maelona started at her and blinked for a moment. Then she said, "Thank you. I'm afraid I can't offer you much help, but I'll do what I can."

"Is there someplace I could go to for more information?"

"All I can tell you is that the best place to start is at The Flowing Bowl. Gogan may be able to give you more information beyond that."

She remembered seeing that name written on the storefront next to the merchant's store on the Gold Coast. Great, she'll have to turn around. "Okay. Got it."

"The Flowing Bowl attracts the worst Anvil has to offer. Always be on your guard." Maelona said, her voice strong with forewarning.

She sighed nervously and went to find her husband to learn more about this gang of women. Good deeds lead to good things. Good deeds lead to good things...

_There had better be a good thing coming my way for doing this._ She thought.

* * *

Morvayn's Peacemakers was the name of the armory in Anvil and it was right next to the main gate. Made the search for it pretty easy. Tala decided to go inside to see if 1- she could buy some repair hammers, and 2- to see if Martin had been there. When she opened the door and stepped inside, one of her questions had been plainly answered.

Standing at the front counter was Martin, ordained in iron armor. No helmet, no shield, no sword, just standard cuirass, greaves, and boots. The only thing he was wearing that wasn't iron was a pair of leather gauntlets. He turned to see who had entered and saw her. When she waved lightly, he returned the welcome gesture with a warm smile.

"Well, well. So much for meeting back at the Inn." He said with a very soft chuckle. Then he motioned to the armor he was wearing, "This was all I could get. Wish I could complete the set, but all he had were the leather gauntlets."

"No, no. It works. Much better than the robes. Hope it's not too expensive." She said.

"No, I think I've got it. If you're here for repair hammers, don't worry. I've taken the liberty of purchasing some."

"Do you want me to pay for the hammers?"

He laughed with a smile that had said 'you worry too much'. As he pulled out his coin purse he said, "I trust you got plenty of potions and food to get us through, so no need to feel like you're responsible for buying everything. Let me handle this one."

At that moment, all the tension and worry Tala had been carrying over Martin had disappeared. He didn't run away; he got his armor and he was in a relatively good mood compared to the day before. So obviously he wasn't worried about her hair. Good. Now she had to think of a way to tell him what she just signed up for.

"I have something to tell you." She said slowly. "You may not like it."

His hand was inches away from Varel Morvayn's open palm when he stopped short. He turned around slightly to meet her eyes. The cautious look he gave her was a very similar one he had given her in the Chapel in Kvatch the day before. "What do you mean?"

Tala let out a deep breath before she spit it out. "A woman named Maelona asked for my help. I ended up agreeing; told her I would see what I could do. I want to stick around long enough to investigate."

Martin blinked at her in utter disbelief. "Are you mad? You said we'd only be here long enough to get supplies. We have supplies now; there's no time to stay and help the locals."

"I know, I know." She said, feeling guilty. "But I feel compelled to help."

"I understand that. Believe me, I do. But Tala, time is of the essence here. We cannot afford to go 'investigate' when we have to head towards Chorrol as fast as we can."

"Please. I want to help her. She lost a family heirloom because her husband was unfaithful, and I caught a quick rumor amongst the guards that there's a gang of women preying on men. I want to find them."

"And do what? Stop the gang? Again I ask... are you MAD?"

By this time, Varel began to wiggle his fingers at Martin's clenched hand, as if that was the trick to make his hand magically let go of the gold. The Dunmer was trying to be polite, but he also wanted his money for all the armor and hammers Martin was paying for.

"I want to help Maelona at least get her ring back." Tala said, her desperation showing strongly in her eyes. "I don't understand why, but I just know I have to help her get her ring back. My mother always said if you do something good, the Gods would bring something good into your life. I really feel that by doing this, not only will it help the life of someone else, but it'll bring good change into my life as well. Don't ask me what it is; I just know I need to do this. Please. I won't ask this of you again."

Martin finally noticed that the merchant wanted his money, so he placed the gold in his hands. Varel sighed with relief and began counting the coins to make sure there was the exact amount. Once he was finished, Martin nodded in gratitude, and then motioned Tala to step outside. He didn't say anything right away once they were out into the city. He just looked around for a moment before closing his eyes and sighing while he shook his head.

"Alright." Martin finally said. "I have a feeling that arguing this with you will get me nowhere, so I might as well let you go ahead with it. Do your investigating, and then we'll leave. Do I make myself clear?"

"Clear as glass." Tala said, her tone sounding very assuring. "After this, I won't delay us any further by assisting someone else, I promise."

Martin looked at her rather blandly. "You promised me yesterday that we'd only be in Anvil long enough to get supplies. This is not keeping to your promise, you know."

"Yes, I do. But you know I will get you to Weynon Priory alive. And that's all that truly matters."

He sighed again. "And I have put my life in your hands. I trust you mean what you say. Just... the sooner we get through this, the better. Now where are we going first?"

"The Flowing Bowl. It's a tavern outside of the walls on the Gold Coast, next to the merchant's shop. Gogan said that's where two women approached him and lured him to their place."

They made their way over to the tavern while Tala retold everything Maelona and Gogan had told her, and what they asked her to do. When she was finished, Martin stopped her just outside the gates, out of earshot.

"If this is the case, then you're missing something." He said.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Well if we're supposed to look for these two women at this tavern and get them to approach us, you need to catch their attention in some way in order to get them to talk to you. Which means, you're going to have to look the part."

"Look... the part...? I'm not following."

"Remove your armor and get into something more... feminine. Fix your hair so it doesn't look like its been trapped in your helmet for eternity. Look like a lady, and maybe you'll get somewhere."

That's when her face flushed, both with anger and embarrassment. "Are YOU the one that's gone mad now? You saw my hair. Everybody is going to be too busy staring at it like some sideshow. They won't take me seriously, let alone find me worth talking to. No way! I'm going into The Flowing Bowl in my armor."

"You know, before you let the bandit from yesterday cripple your self-esteem, I have to say, your hair color is not as bad you make it out to be."

"Its not just the bandit, everyone that has seen my hair has either stared, insulted me, or laughed. The only people that haven't are the people that haven't seen it because I keep it up in my helmet. Its much safer that way." She said, only hearing the first part of his sentence. She stopped abruptly when the last thing Martin said finally sank into her skull. "W-wait a minute... did you... just say... t-that my hair isn't t-that bad? You mean you don't find my hair repugnant?"

Martin laughed. "What? Gods no. It is far from repugnant, Tala. I don't think people find it as horrible as you think they do. They might be taken aback by the color, but how many of them have actually told you it looked horrible? Some may say such demeaning things because they don't like anything unique. Others like to say them because they know it'll distraught you. I don't know why I'm admitting this to you, but I will tell you this: I've never seen hair of such color before, and to be honest... I was very surprised when I first saw it. But for such a strange color, you make it very enchanting. It's like the color of a flawless sapphire diamond, and its quite beguiling."

Her face turned a million shades of red, but her utter shock kept her from turning away so he couldn't see it. Did someone here in Cyrodiil actually make a compliment on her hair? And he said it with such civility as almost if... as if he was trying to say he _liked_ it?

"Do you have any clothes on you?" He asked, breaking her train of thought.

"Yeah. I have something that'd work." She said in a rather hypnotic tone.

"Use it. And this time, trust me when I say to give it a chance." He said, giving her a warm, encouraging smile. And that smile was all she needed.

* * *

They approached The Flowing Bowl casually, Tala taking the lead, Martin following behind a foot or two. He remained in his armor, figuring the robes would not be the ideal attire to inspire contact. She was wearing a burgundy shirt and linens, her hair perfectly combed and naturally curled around her face and at the ends. A lot of people on the docks stared, but she held her head high and tried to pay no attention to them. She believed in Martin when he said her hair was beguiling, so she hoped this would work.

She walked into the tavern first. Only the barkeeper was there. She slowly strolled over towards the fireplace and took a seat in one of the chairs. Martin came in a minute later and came up to the bar. He began buying food from the barkeep, tucking a few meals in his bag and then began eating a loaf of bread. The barkeeper gave him a bottle of wine to go with it. Suddenly Tala remembered that she hadn't eaten anything today. It sort of made her jealous of Martin right at that moment.

A male Nord came walking in and also asked for some wine. He gave a nod to Martin before he talked the barkeep's ear off for a few minutes and then downed his drink. When he saw Tala sitting by the fire he stared at her hair for a long period of time. Great, here we go, was Tala's initial thought. Then the Nord gave a cheesy grin. She gave him a courteous smile and looked away. Definitely not what they were waiting for, but she tried not to laugh to herself. The Nord had to be dead drunk, otherwise why was he looking at her and winking? Like he wanted to take her upstairs and do naughty things with her? Or maybe he saw past the hair color and was looking at all of her, seeing a true beauty. Was Martin right?

Suddenly two women came into the tavern, a Nord and an Imperial. They both looked at the three people in the bar and began stalking around them. Tala eyed Martin to see if he was noticing the same thing. He had his head bowed over his food, pretending not to notice. But she knew that he knew. The Nord male flipped his coin to the bar keep and left just as quickly as he entered. But once the seat next to Martin was free, the Nord woman slowly sat in the seat. She leaned in close to him and Tala could see her trying to talk to him. However, the Imperial woman was in the corner of her eye, since she was coming right over to her.

"Never seen you here before." She said to Tala. "You look like you can handle yourself in a fight. And I'm sure you wouldn't mind making a little extra money." She stopped a minute to think to herself. "I've put together a... well... a gang. We make money by luring fools out to the middle of nowhere and robbing them blind. Our targets? Weak willed men who are easily fooled into believing they will have their way with us." Then she laughed and looked over her shoulder at her friend. "Men are so gullible."

As she chuckled to herself, Tala noticed that the Nord woman had Martin's full attention now. These were the women they were looking for, obviously. And they seem to think Martin was a gullible fool. Guess who wanted to laugh now?

"I leave the decision up to you. If you want to join up, meet us at the Gweden farmhouse around 11 in the evening. I'll mark it on your map. Oh, and one more thing, if you breathe a word of this to the city guard, you won't live long enough to get whatever reward they're offering."

Tala was quiet for a moment until she asked, "Why me?"

Once again, the woman chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? For a Breton, you're quite exotic. You're a perfect asset in helping us fool the men looking for something... new."

She began to walk away, and her friend decided to get up as if to follow, but not before running her finger seductively down Martin's arm and winking at him. Then she came over to Tala and leaned in so only she could hear.

"Be nice to get another pretty face in the gang." She whispered. "Hope to see you there."

Tala remained quiet as the Nord walked back to her friend's side. She blew Martin a kiss before she stepped out first. The Imperial flashed a teasing smile at him before she followed behind. Once the tavern was quiet again, Martin and Tala looked at each other and blinked in befuddlement.

"Did that just happen?" Tala asked wildly. "What did she say to you?"

"That I seemed lonely and they were too, and that I should meet them at their farm at 11 in the evening for 'a night of fun you won't soon forget.' Bless the gods..." He said the last part as if he was afraid something terrible was going to happen. The priest in him was finally talking again at that moment. "What did the other one say to you?"

"She invited me into the gang. Asking me to meet at 11 in the evening also. At this farmhouse called Gwenden Farm. She marked it on my map." Tala walked over to the bar, placing her map down beside his and pointing to the spot. The Nord woman had marked the same place on Martin's map.

"The same spot..." He said. "I guess that's where we need to go to find the ring."

"Must be. So is that all she said to you?"

"Pretty much. It's... a little more detailed than what I gave you... but that was about it. And you? Is that all the other said to you? The Nord whispered something too."

Tala was very still and silent for a moment as she tried to comprehend what she heard from the Imperial woman. "She told me she thought I looked exotic. The Nord said I looked like another pretty face to have in their gang... I almost don't believe it."

"Believe what?"

"Only my parents said I was pretty. I expected that from parents, of course. I had other people tell me back in High Rock that I had the most beautiful eyes they had ever seen, but nothing more." She said slowly. "They could never see past my hair and compliment me on anything else. Because my eyes seem to shine, they only saw that. Or at least that's what they said to me. For the first time, someone else told me I was pretty. Its almost too good to be real."

"And yesterday when you told me that I was the emperor's son, I didn't think that was real either. But yet... it is." He said softly. "You are a lovely young woman. Don't let others make you think differently. You have the ability to see the beauty in everything else; I'm sure you are capable of seeing the beauty in yourself."

Tala slowly looked up from the counter and looked Martin dead in the eyes. His smile was still sweet and encouraging. His face showed that his shock from the days before was wearing off and a newfound confidence was appearing. His eyes were still captivating as always. But even though he still looked the same, she was seeing him in a different light. He had just been trying to boost her self-esteem that afternoon, to get her confidence restored and her doubt to fade away so she could finish her task, but instead he did something more.

At that moment, Tala had fallen in love with Martin.


	7. Summons

**_A/N-_ **I want to thank everyone so far whom has favored the story so far and a big thanks for the reviews! Here are chapters 7 and 8. This chapter brings us back to Tala in Post-Oblivion Crisis for a moment before I will return to her past memories for the next few. I've got this all worked out in my head... it'll be putting it into actual chapters that'll be the interesting part. ENJOY!

* * *

_The clouds and sky swirled in deathly colors of red, gray, and black. The daedra were spilling the blood of her brothers in armor and terrorizing the civilians as they fled to their homes._

_Then everything went black. Her heart pounded in the background of the darkness._

_The giant daedric beast loomed over the city, his red eyes glaring down at her. The roar through his protruding teeth was spine curling. It made everyone shake down to the bone._

_Everything was black again; her heart still beating in her head._

_Martin's face was heartrending; eyes showing that he had something in mind. His lips were moving, but no words were coming out. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her beating heart._

_Then black again._

_The giant red beast clashed with a fire dragon in a loud and angry fury. The dragon taking its blows, the beast taking his as they both crashed down into the temple floor and back up again._

_Black again. Her heartbeat became more rapid, her stomach tightened, and her head felt dizzy._

_Her vision came back slowly as the dragon's wings began to envelop its body and started to tuck its head into its chest. The body was turning into stone and she never took her eyes away from the dragon's own. Sound finally came, but it was cries of pure sorrow. It was her own voice; her own cries..._

_The world began to spin and shake as the sky came crashing down on her..._

* * *

Tala shot up from her nightmare and took a deep breath. It was still dark out, not a hint of dawn peeking in the sky. The dream was still the same every night, and it never ceased to tear at her emotions. It wasn't easy to relive that day over and over again. If she could, she would forget that day ever happened. But her subconscious refused to let her. And even if she weren't having nightmares, the people of Cyrodiil would probably never let her forget either. She was a hero now remember? Even though she was, Tala still didn't feel like one.

Once again, tears were running down her cheek. She wiped them away and slowly got out of bed, heading into the dining area of her Skingrad home for a quick midnight snack to calm the nerves. She had saved every last septim she had to buy Rosethorn Hall, even going so far as to help the Count of Skingrad in order to make some extra money. Once she purchased the house, she had become completely broke, but now she had plenty of space to store supplies. It was a roof over her head in the city she loved the most and was well worth going bankrupt for. Right after she had bought the house, Tala had also decided to head for Kvatch, knowing that when she returned from her journey, there would be a safe haven for her to rest in. Nowadays, nothing really gave her a safe haven to rest in. At this point, she'd give anything to have a sound place to escape the nightmares plaguing her mind.

The Imperial Dragon Armor rested safely inside a display case in her bedroom chambers with an extremely hard lock protecting it. Even if a robber had come in and tried to smash the glass, it would be useless, since Tala had enchanted the case to make it unbreakable. And if someone hammered away at the glass or the lock one too many times, a common soul gem hidden underneath the case would fill their bodies full of lightning faster than they would have time to react. She wasn't stupid when it came to protecting her valuables. Once she was finished with her snack, she came back to her room and went to the case. She undid the lock and lifted the cuirass to reach for something underneath. She pulled out a small leather pouch that almost passed for a coin purse. But she had something inside the pouch much more priceless than gold. Tala checked to see if it was still inside the bag. It was. Even though she knew the armor and the pouch would be perfectly safe in the display case, she had to feel it on her fingertips to pacify her fears. She tucked the pouch back underneath the armor, locked the case, and crawled into bed.

It has been six weeks since the "Oblivion Crisis" they were starting to call it. Tala had returned to Skingrad after receiving the Dragon Armor about four weeks ago; she had walked away with her armor in her bag and said good-bye to the Imperial City, for there were no fond memories residing inside its walls anymore. If only her mind could wipe away all the anguished memories she experienced in the City. Maybe then her heart could finally stop falling to pieces every night and she could move on with her life fully and completely. In the meantime, avoiding the city altogether was the best place to start.

* * *

She was up at 8 in the morning, off to the West Weald Inn to deliver her latest collection of Nirnroot to Sinderion. She was wearing her russet felt outfit and no helmet. She left her hair exposed for every passerby to see, figuring by now the people here knew about it and it didn't matter if she hid her hair underneath a helmet or not. Besides, most people in Skingrad didn't behave immaturely about it the way the majority of people in the other cities did. But maybe that was because Skingrad was a playground for the vampires and a blue haired Breton was far from a threat. Oh well, didn't matter. Tala still loved the overall kindness the town had to offer.

Finding Nirnroot specimens was the best source of relaxation she had. It gave her something to do other than sit around at home and become consumed by her thoughts. She hadn't been back to Sinderion's cellar since before she became more dedicated to closing the Oblivion Gates, but finding the glowing musical plant was difficult, so it was not uncommon for her timeframe between drop-offs to be weeks if not months apart. Today she had at least 40 Nirnroot in her alchemy satchel, so she decided it was time to pay him a visit.

Sinderion was one of her favorite people in Skingrad. He was intelligent, enthusiastic about his work, and never pried into other people's business. He would ask the occasional question, but always knew when someone didn't want to elaborate. The first time he saw her hair when she removed her helmet to itch her head, the Altmer- like anyone else that had first seen it- took a moment to stare in surprise. When she cleared her throat to get his attention, he had asked, "Alchemy experiment gone wrong?"

"You could almost say that." She had replied. Then she gave him the first 10 Nirnroot he had asked her to collect, and Sinderion became more focused on that.

She kept her helmet on after that encounter, even if she was in her outfit. But with each visit, he would glance at her helmet strangely until after the fourth time he said, "You know, as much as your hair is an odd color, wearing a helmet with clothes and not armor looks even more bizarre. You're better off to let your hair down."

She removed her helmet in front of Sinderion when in civilian attire from then on, and stayed in full armor when she was in other towns. Besides, he was more interested in Nirnroot than her blue locks, so she tried not to worry about what he truly thought. Pretty soon, he was one of the select few that she didn't mind showing her hair to.

"Well hello!" Sinderion said cheerfully as she came down the steps. "You must be here to bring me more Nirnroot."

"As always. Here." She pulled out her bundle of singing plants and gently handed them to the alchemist. "Sorry it has taken me a while to bring you back more samples. They're hard to find. And... I had been busy with some more urgent matters."

"So I've heard. Rumor is you're the Champion of Cyrodiil. Quite a high honor, if you ask me."

Tala said nothing. In fact she hoped being in the dark cellar would hide the gloomy look that had crossed her face. She didn't mean to slip into that depression, but it seemed like no matter whom she talked to, they all knew what happened. She was never going to get away with it.

"Something tells me you're not so thrilled about the title." Sinderion said carefully.

"Becoming Champion came with... personal consequences. Let's leave it at that." She said softly.

"You don't have to say more. I think I understand. But while you were gone..." He turned to his shelves and grabbed a bottle with tar-black liquid inside and brought it over to her. It wasn't the Elixir of Exploration that he was making out of the Nirnroot. She stared at it intently, hoping she could figure it out before he gave away the answer.

"You seem quite ashamed of the color of your hair, so I devised a potion that would turn you hair into a more natural color. All you have to do is put a strand of hair the color you want into the bottle, succuss it until the liquid turns to the color, and pour it on. It's as easy as that!"

Tala carefully took the bottle from the Altmer and looked at it for a long time. "I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything at all. Consider it a token of my appreciation for all the specimens you have given me in the past year." He said with a big, cheerful smile.

She nodded to him as a gesture of respect and gratitude before tucking the bottle into her knapsack. They bid their farewells until she returned with another bundle of Nirnroot, and she headed out the door. Her next trip was to Gunder at the Colovian Traders to sell all the items raided off of bandits she encountered during her Nirnroot expeditions. She was almost to the door when a courier called out her name.

"Ah! You're Tala, Champion of Cyrodiil, right?" He asked as he approached.

She sighed. "I am Tala, yes." She refused to say the Champion title. The way it rolled off her tongue felt like she tasted rotten berries.

He pulled out a note and handed it to her. "A message for you. From inside the Imperial Palace."

She didn't have to ask the messenger whom it was from. She knew only one person in the palace that would contact her. She sighed again as she took the note, but made the effort to smile humbly and not take out her frustration on him. "Thank you very much."

"Its an honor to greet you in person, my lady. Until next time." And he left without another word.

Tala leaned against the wall of Colovian Traders, popped the wax seal on the note, and opened it up. It read:

_As Potentate of the Empire, I have summoned you, Champion of Cyrodiil, to a meeting of the Elder Council on the 14th day of Sun's Height. As a member of the Council, your presence is of the utmost importance._

_Best Regards,_

_Ocato_

Tala's sighs went from being overwhelmed to being annoyed. Here she thought maybe she could finally get away from the heartland of Cyrodiil, away from the physical reminders. Now Ocato was asking her to come back to the White Gold Tower to sit with the Council. Probably to discuss what to do now that they're isn't a Septim to rule and no Amulet of Kings to light the Dragonfires. Even worse, the Dragonfires were useless now; there was no need for them now that the barrier between this world and Oblivion are permanently sealed. Becoming Champion meant she was a part of the decision-making; she had no choice but to return to the Imperial City. If anything, Tala just wished that Ocato had summoned everyone sooner, back when she was already in town. It wouldn't have killed her completely to stick around for one more week. Just to get her armor, go through the meeting, and get it all over with for good. But to leave and come back was too emotionally painful.

She let it all sink in and filter through her mind before she took a deep breath and held it in for a long moment before exhaling through her nose. _Stop being such a baby._ She thought to herself. _You're a warrior- a Nightblade to be more exact. You've killed in cold blood, slain countless daedra, closed Oblivion Gates all by yourself, become a champion of the empire... and... Oh, just suck it up and go the damn meeting. It can't be worse than what you've already seen._

With that, she squared her shoulders, stood up straighter, and went into the Colovian Traders to finish her errands for the morning. Once she was finished, she went home to pack her bags for the Imperial City. The 14th of Sun's Height was only two weeks away. She might as well get prepared.

She tucked Sinderion's coloring elixir in her alchemy drawer next to her chest in the right side of her bedroom. A few months ago, if Sinderion had given her that potion, she would've plucked a hair off of the most normal looking person and bathed her hair in the elixir faster than you could drop a rock on the ground. But after Martin had told her that her hair wasn't so bad that day in Anvil, she slowly began to like the color. The stares would make her uncomfortable on the rare occasion; otherwise she no longer hid her hair from the world. Maybe someday the elixir will come in handy for someone else, but she felt like it was no longer meant for her. At some point, she'll bring herself to tell Sinderion that.


	8. Opening Up

Evening rolled around and Tala had walked into Gwenden Farm first, leaving Martin to listen and wait just incase something went wrong. She had been inside not five minutes when two Anvil guards had come up the hill. Martin wasn't sure how he was going to explain himself, but the female guards held her hand up in front of him, signaling to remain quiet. He then focused in on her face to see who it was: Maelona.

He didn't have the chance to speak before he heard someone shout, "Ok, girls! We got someone who doesn't want to cooperate!" Then sounds of clashing steel came through the door. Martin suddenly remembered that Tala was inside with no armor on and only her sword at her belt. He turned right around and went pounding into the farmhouse with Maelona and Gogan behind him.

They expected to have to clash with enemies; instead they found Tala putting her Glass long sword into the chest of the final siren. There were only three of them, and the young Breton had taken care of them pretty quickly, but not without shredding the burgundy outfit she had on. Cuts and gashes were showing through the torn clothing, and she took a very brief moment to heal the most severe ones. When she saw Maelona and Gogan, Tala remembered what Faustina had said to her before the gang attacked her.

"GAH! YOU! They said the ring was a fake! You set us up!" She roared. Martin decided to remain quiet, but he was also looking at the guards for answers.

Maelona had the decency to look embarrassed as she faced the two strangers. "We had a feeling you'd be surprised when you saw us in our real uniforms. I also see you have a puzzled look on your face. Ask away."

"Who are you really?" Tala practically shouted.

"Gogan and I are really members of the Anvil City Watch. I suppose you could say we work undercover. We've been trying to foil Faustina's gang for months now. Every time we tried to interview a man who was lured there, they refused to talk. The women in the gang picked married men to seduce for just that reason. It was decided the only way to stop this gang was to send in a stranger. You fit the bill perfectly."

"If we knew what was going on, we would've approached this differently." Martin said calmly. He didn't seem as livid about it as Tala was, but maybe it was because he decided to be the more level-headed of the two. "Instead of coming in here thinking all we needed was a ring, we would've just told you and let you make an arrest. Maybe then she wouldn't have been forced to kill them."

"It's a shame it had to end in so much violence, but someone was bound to get hurt sooner or later." Maelona said softly. The look on her face said that it probably didn't matter if she told them or not, the result may had still been the same.

Martin sighed and looked around at the three dead women on the floor while Tala went back to healing her wounds. "What would you like us to do?"

"We'll clean up the mess. Don't concern yourself about it." Maelona said, looking over to Tala and adding, "I'm sure you had no choice."

"I am sorry that I left such a mess for you. And even though I'm a little annoyed that you used me... I'm glad I was able to help you in your investigation." She looked to Martin and added, "If you don't mind, I'm going to have a look around the cabin, then we can leave."

Martin's eyes narrowed at her, but he nodded without a word.

"If you ever find yourself back in Anvil, stop by anytime and say hello. Oh, and please say nothing to anyone about our true identities." Maelona quickly added.

"We won't say anything. You have my word." Tala said. Martin nodded in agreement.

"You've done well, and here is the reward that I promised." She then handed out a purse full of gold. When Tala took it, she could feel more that just a hundred. It had to be three times that amount.

Gogan didn't say a word. On the other hand, he was staring at Tala intenly. When she realized what he was staring at was not her, but her hair, she glowered at him and asked, "What?"

He blinked in startlement, then looked around at the bodies all over the floor. "L-little busy right now. Got a mess to clean up." He said.

Tala decided to leave it be and headed downstairs to look through the cellar, seeing if she could find anything of use. When she was through grabbing whatever she could find, she dressed into her armor and walked back upstairs. On her way back out, she picked up an enchanted blade on the floor that one of the women had wielded, figuring it would be worth some money.

Martin waited patiently outside until she was finished looting the cabin. He didn't approve of it, but the guards weren't disagreeing with her actions and there was no point in arguing about it with Tala either.

She walked out of the farmhouse while twisting her hair up against her head and slipping her helmet on. "Ready to go?" She asked.

"You want to head to Weynon Priory right this moment? In the middle of the night?" Martin asked, folding his arms acrossed his chest.

"Why not? The sooner we head out, the sooner we'll get there and make up for lost time."

"What about all those items you have in your bag? Don't you want to sell them?"

"I'm going to sell my goods at the Colovian Traders in Skingrad when we pass through. I want to empty some things at my home there very quickly as well. It won't take more than five minutes tops. So let's get moving."

She passed him and began heading in the direction of the Gold Road. Martin watched her walk ahead a few feet before following after her. Once again, there was silence between the two until they were officially back on the road heading towards Skingrad. When the Anvil walls were fading, Martin broke the tension.

"So is looting off the dead a hobby or habit?" He had asked. When Tala turned her head to look at him, he added very politely, "You just seem to be quick to take from people after you've killed them, so I'm curious."

She blinked at him and focused back on the road in front of her. "I guess you can say its habit. Looting was what I did to try and make some money to survive in Cyrodiil."

"There are better options to make a living other than stealing from your dead enemies."

"When I first came here, I thought that way, too. I tried finding work in the Imperial City, but no one would hire me because of my hair. So if I couldn't be a charming serving girl or shopkeeper's assistant, I could try being hired muscle. I thought I was skilled enough at the time to handle the task, but I wasn't. A bandit gang ended up beating me within an inch of my life and the guards confused me for one of them and put me in jail for it. I realized then that I couldn't always be fair and honest. I was given another chance to start over thanks to Emperor Uriel and since then I had taken items from my enemies figuring they wouldn't need them anymore. I fixed up their broken armor and shined their gems, then sold them for a profit. I admit, at first I thought it was wrong, but I have never stolen from honest people. I find such things utterly immoral."

"I agree with that."

"Besides, if the bandits killed me they'd loot everything off of my body, so its only fair that I can do that to them. I've never killed for someone's items and I've never stolen from anyone for unnecessary reasons, so what I'm doing now is not all that terrible."

"Alright, I suppose I can't argue with that."

"Good." She said as looked at him with a grin. She had done that just to be a jester and keep the mood light before it turned into something heavy.

It worked, because Martin chuckled a little as he shook his head. "I don't think I understand you very well, Tala."

"Well maybe if you keep asking questions and I give you answers, you could learn to understand me well."

He laughed. "Alright. Well may I ask an easy question?"

"Sure. I like easy."

"Your name, 'Tala'... that's a name I've never heard before. I don't even think it's a traditional name up in High Rock either."

"Its not. My father wanted to name me after the god Talos. He had a Nord friend that got him fascinated by all the stories and legends of Tiber Septim, so my dad wanted to name his son after Tiber's Nordic name. Problem was, I was a girl, not a boy. So my mother thought of 'Tala' as a female version of Talos. I guess my father liked it, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me that question, huh?" She said with a soft laugh at the end.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." He said with a smile. "Now may I ask another?"

"Wait, don't tell me... 'So why is my hair blue?'"

"Yes. Why? Do you not know?"

Tala took a long deep breath and decided to tell him the story her mother had told her, about how she was born with it and her father's most logical explanation for it. When she was finished, Tala noticed that he had tried to contain his laughter. Tala's face began to flush pink as she was beginning to feel utterly embarrassed for telling him her story. She was afraid he was going to laugh at it. But she looked at his face and realized that what he had been failing to hold back was a very warm chuckle and not so much a laugh of mockery.

"What's so funny?" She decided to ask.

"Oh, nothing." He said, a smile still on his face. When she still looked at him, those sparkling eyes waiting for an answer, it was his turn for his cheeks to flush. "I... actually think that's very fascinating. It's not something you hear everyday, but it's not as terrible as you make it out to be."

"Yeah, well you didn't grow up with the other kids picking on you because you were the only person in High Rock with hair the color of a an indigo bunting."

"Did it ever occur to you that people torment you because you let them? They sense that it's your vulnerability and they use it against you. If you were proud of it, they wouldn't tease you. Your hair color is different, but not ugly. It's quite the beautiful shade of blue actually. And you yourself are quite lovely, so it only compliments you more. It makes you very unique. Be proud of that."

Once again, he had complimented her and her hair. Because she had fallen in love with him after the first round of compliments earlier that day, to hear him do it again just made her heart beat faster and her face turn a hundred shades of pink and red. Tala didn't have anything else to say, so she looked away from him and shyly rubbed the back of her neck.

Martin chuckled again and shook his head slightly. "For a girl who acts tough in the faces of her enemies, you sure are gullible when it comes to compliments. You're cute, but I still don't understand you yet."

She smiled awkwardly at him until she let the comment sink in deeper. _Wait a minute._ She thought. _Did he just say I was cute? D-does he... find me... attractive? Are his feelings toward me the same as my feelings for him?_

Martin was focused back on the road as she stared at him for a long moment. Then she asked, "So what about you? I've told you my story, now its your turn."

He looked over at her and blinked. "Me? I don't know if there's much to tell. It sounds like the life I lived was a lie and you already know the truth."

She didn't know how to come back at that, so she rephrased her question. "Well can you tell me about how you grew up? Or what got you intrested in being a preist?"

He thought about it for a moment before answering, "Well like I said when you met me, I thought my father was a farmer. I grew up as a farmboy, but always wanted something more. When I was an adolescent I became intrigued by magic, so I joined the Mages Guild, majoring in destruction magic. However, magic had led me down some darks paths in my life. I've done things I'm not proud of because of it. Being young and naïve, I didn't know when to stop or where else to go. A priest convinced me to serve the Devines as a way to seek forgiveness for what I did, so that's where I went. Akatosh had seemed to be my guide from then on. I had been Kvatch's priest since then."

Tala smiled warmly. "My mother was a priestess of Akatosh in our hometown."

"Really? But didn't you just say your father was a follower of Talos?"

"He was, but he also followed Akatosh because of my mother. She had become a priestess when she was sixteen years of age and it was her life's calling. I have very fond memories of playing in the Chaple back home while my mother healed the sick and helped others seek guidence. She was as patient as time itself, which was probably why she choose Akatosh as the god to serve. Because of her, I still follow Akatosh to this day."

Martin was quiet for a moment before asking solemly, "Do you still believe that the Gods are there? After I prayed to them endlessly after the Oblivion Gates opened, nothing good had come."

"That's not entirely true." She said encouragingly. "If you were praying for someone or something to save the town, then the gods had sent me to Kvatch as the answer to your prayers. They were listening all along and you just had to be a little more patient."

Martin stopped and looked at Tala without a hint of emotion on his face, making it difficult to decipher what he was thinking. After yet another moment of uncomfortable silence, he finally said, "Maybe you're right. Maybe I was just so scared for the people that I lost my patience. I do thank you for coming to rescue the city, even if you were only there to find me. I am still eternally grateful."

She smiled sweetly. "You're welcome. Now, it's a long journey to Weynon Priory and its going to be quite the trip just to Skingrad, so I'm just going to ask questions to pass the time. In doing that, maybe there will be a point where we'll finally understand one another. How's that sound?"

Martin let out an amused snort from the back of his throat. "Alright, I suppose. But I have to ask the first question: exactly how old ARE you? You seem to act like a child, but you clearly don't look like one."

"Well if you must know, I just turned twenty-one."

"Twenty-one? You're still just a girl."

"I'm technically a woman, and judging by how well I can fight, I'd say I'm far from a girl. Now how old are you?"

"Fourty-five."

"Really?" She said in utter surprise. Martin nodded. "You don't look fourty-five. I could've sworn you were at least ten years younger than that."

He sighed. "After what I've gone through in the past few days, I'm surprised I don't look ten years older than what I am."

Tala laughed and he laughed along with her. Their journey to Skingrad allowed them to clear away any tension. They were finally opening up. She had become more comfortable with talking about her childhood to him and expressing how she felt. He would tell her fond memories of his childhood, and he'd still express his disbelief over the fact that he was the only heir to the Empire. He was still uncomfortable with telling her about the darkness of his past, but she didn't press it; Tala figured if Martin wanted her to know, he'd tell her. When they weren't asking each other questions or fighting off bandits, there was wine and jokes to warm their bodies and hearts. In getting to know Martin better, Tala's affections towards him only grew stronger. He seemed like he was interested back, especially with the compliments he had given her. But had the feeling been truly mutual between them?


	9. Weynon Priory

**A/N-** I am so sorry for how long it has taken me to post a new chapter! I have been mulling over how I want the next few chapters to go and this one just didn't come out the way I wanted it to go right off the bat. I had to write it out, then leave it be and come back to it with a fresh mind and make a few corrections. I was going to try and post two chapters in a row, but because its been so long, I figured I'd just post this one anyway and get to the next one ASAP. The next chapter will still be a flashback one, just FYI. And thanks so much to all the followers! I never would've thought this many people would like it! You have no idea how happy it makes me! If the mood strikes, I'd love some reviews to see what everyone's thinking of the story so far!

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* * *

The stop in Skingrad had been as she said it would be. She quickly sold all of the armor and items she had accumulated; whatever she didn't wish to lug around, she had left at her house. She had also grabbed some food from her home for the trip so they wouldn't have the need to stop at an inn for something to eat. After leaving the city and returning onto the road, the enemies had decided to come out of the woodwork, which lengthened their journey more than they would had liked. Tala had been able to take care of her attackers without too much of a hassle. Martin handled himself well when it came to long-range magic, but his skills with a blade were rusty. He had already admitted that he hadn't done any fighting since he was a younger man, so he didn't always watch his back when it came to close combat. There had been a few times where his opponent would've taken him down if it hadn't been for Tala coming to his rescue at the last second, and each time he was grateful that she had been there. They would take the proper amount of time to heal themselves and fix their armor, and then continued on the path.

When there hadn't been any thugs to kill, the two of them were enjoying each other's company. Here and there, they each told stories of home, tales of their journeys as adults, and just plain small talk. When the White Gold Tower was barely visible in their sights, they had taken a brief moment to stop and stare. Tala couldn't help but frown and shudder. Even though she had made a few new friends since emperor Uriel had given her a second chance, there were still plenty of people who gave her a hard time because of the way she looked. It was why Tala had moved to Skingrad and never entered the heartland city unless absolutely necessary. The idea of taking Martin there to be crowned made her feel dispirited, like there was no way to avoid the condemnatory crowd that lived inside those walls.

"Someday the people will look past the surface and see you for the good person you are." Martin had said when he noticed the look on her face. "They'll know what you've done to protect the empire, and you won't be made a mockery of. You will become a champion in their eyes."

To hear that from him meant a lot to her. The fact that they understood each other both in words and in combat had sealed their friendship. Whether or not it kindled more than that, Tala was still afraid to find out.

After four days of traveling, the road to Weynon Priory had finally become visible in their sights. Tala saw the path and sighed, but it had not been with relief. As much as she was glad of the idea that she could rest for a while, she really didn't want her time with Martin to end. Truth was she was afraid that once she brought Martin to Jauffre, she wouldn't have the alone time with him the way she'd had in the past couple of days. But she didn't tell him that; she had been too afraid of what he'd say.

"Something wrong?" Martin asked curiously as he followed behind her.

She shook her head and didn't allow him to see her face. "Its nothing, really." Tala said.

"How close are we?"

"See that path branching out of the main road?" She said as she pointed it out about a quarter of a mile away. "That's the side road to Weynon Priory. So we're pretty much there."

She turned her head to see him straighten his posture and smile slightly. "Ah, at last... the long journey will be over." He said with relief.

She remained quiet as they turned onto the road. But before they walked any further, Eronor the stable hand immediately greeted them in a panic.

"Help! You must help! They're killing everyone at Weynon Priory!" He shrieked as he sprinted towards them.

"What?!" Tala and Martin both exclaimed. Tala added, "Who?"

"I don't know! I think they're right behind me! Prior Maborel is dead!" Eronor said, his voice remaining frantic.

"Calm down. What's going on? What happened?" Martin said as quickly and patiently as he could.

"I was in the sheepfold when they attacked. I heard the Prior talking to someone. Looked around the corner to see who it was. They looked like travelers, ordinary. Suddenly weapons appeared in their hands and they cut the Prior down before he could move! They saw me watching and I ran!"

Tala and Martin exchanged a worried look. "The Mythic Dawn." She said. Then she turned back to Eronor and asked, "Do you know where Jauffre is?"

"I don't know. In the Chapel praying, I think."

Tala quickly drew her sword and they both rushed forward into the courtyard, expecting assassins. But instead they found that it was quiet. It was too quiet for Tala's taste, so she slipped on her shield for extra defense. Martin had cast a strong protection spell on himself and went ahead of her, straight towards the Chapel. She decided to follow him, hoping that they wouldn't walk in to find Jauffre lying dead at the altar. They were three feet from the door when someone in daedric armor walked out, wielding a mace and a wine red helmet covering his face. The color of the cloth on the helmet was the exact same color as the red robes that the Mythic Dawn had worn. With Martin ahead of her and being right in this assassin's striking distance, the sudden realization that he could be stricken down in a flash had made her panic.

She quickly rushed ahead to get in between them and shouted, "Martin! Look out!"

She deflected the first blow from the assassin by pushing Martin out of the way and placing her shield in the way. Tala swung her blade at her attacker and chipped at the armor, but it wasn't enough. In an instant her assassin stepped around her and she felt the mace hit her in the back of the head, hard enough to crush the back of the helmet and causing her head to bleed. Another blow to the hip, and he sent her flying over the stone railing. When she hit the ground, she let go of her sword and her shield jerked loose from her arm, spraining her wrist. Her helmet had also slipped off and rolled under a shrub. Her vision was hazy and the back of her hair was wet from the fresh blood. She had caught a blurry glimpse of Martin up close with the Mythic Dawn agent; it had been hard to tell who was winning or loosing.

Tala heard the sound of pleas in the stable and wasn't sure who was shouting for help, but felt the need to help them regardless of her current state. She found a burst of strength and forced herself up to her hands and knees, but the world started spinning. She fought an urge to vomit and finally brought herself to her feet, running blindly in the direction of the cries. Her vision had cleared a little bit the moment Tala had found Brother Piner cornered by an agent behind the Priory. One agent was already dead, but the other had the monk pinned up against a tree and quickly running out of stamina to keep up with his enemy's strength. The enemy had his back to her, giving her the opportunity to kill him if she timed it right. Tala pulled out a glass dagger from her boot and used her Dragon Skin to put a protective barrier around her body. Then she rushed up behind the assassin and jumped on his shoulders. Before he had a chance to fight back, Tala drove the dagger up under his helmet and into his jaw. The agent froze in shock for a moment before staggering back a few steps and then dropping to his knees. Because Tala still clung to her opponent, the second he dropped, her weight forced the dying body to fall forward and send them both face first into the grass. It was then that Tala let go of everything- dagger, body, and will to move. She tried her best to stand again, but the hit to her head was making her vision fade and her muscles weak.

"By the Gods, are you alright?" She heard Brother Piner faintly say. But she wasn't able to do or say anything back. Her vision finally went black and everything went silent. Not even a thought forced its way into her mind.

* * *

"...Tala?" Came a soft voice. But everything was still black.

Her entire body ached; her fingers had a numbing tingle to them and she wanted to move them, but she couldn't.

"Tala... say something. Talk to me, please..." Came the voice again. This time, it was brought down to a soothing whisper.

She finally had the ability to open her eyes just a bit. The second the light slipped into her vision, an enormous wave of pain came flooding into her skull. She slowly opened her eyes a little more. The picture was blurry, but she didn't need to see clearly to recognize the outline of the person in her view; the shoulder length hair gave him away. The first person she was looking at was Martin, and she finally began to realize it was his voice she was hearing.

"...Tala...?"

"Oh... my head..." Tala finally managed to slur.

Martin let out a relieved sigh. "Thank the Gods, you're alive." He said.

"Why... wouldn't I be...?" She asked slowly.

"Your head wound was bleeding heavily. You even stopped breathing for a minute. It took both Jauffre and I to heal it, but we were both concerned that it wouldn't have been enough. I was beginning to worry that you might never wake up."

Her vision finally cleared and she saw the look on his face; he had been truly worried. If it weren't for the fact that she was more concerned over her loss of mobility, she would've been touched at the idea that he cared. Behind him, Jauffre stood at the doorway watching her intensely. He too seemed relived to see her awake. Tala tried to sit up, but the pain in her head began to pound tremendously. She gave up just as quickly as she tried and laid her head back down on the pillow.

"Don't try to move just yet." Martin said.

"Where am I in the priory, exactly?" Tala asked.

"The sleeping quarters, across from my chambers." Jauffre said. "We figured you would need someplace comfortable to rest when you gained consciousness. I know Martin was concerned that we hadn't been in time to save you, but I had a feeling you'd make it through."

Tala shut her eyes and waited for the throbbing in her head to clear. Then she remembered what happened before she blacked out. She opened her eyes again and looked at Jauffre. "Brother Piner... is he okay?"

"He's fine; safe and sound. He watched over you until Martin and I could finish off the last of the Mythic Dawn agents. We came to find you unresponsive as a stone."

She had lain quietly for a moment as she took everything in before Martin spoke. "There's one problem though... you're not going to like it." He started slowly.

She slightly turned her head to look at him suspiciously. "And? What is it?"

"They've taken the Amulet of Kings." Jauffre responded.

"What?!" She exclaimed and she sat up abruptly. The pain hit her like a punch to the face and she cradled her head in her hands as she took deep breaths, waiting for the throbbing to settle. "Damn it... the plan has gone against us."

"It has not _all_ gone against us. Thank Talos for the fact that you have brought Martin here safely." Jauffre said reassuringly. "We gained Uriel's heir, and lost the Amulet of Kings." He had paused for a moment before adding, "Martin cannot stay here. We have driven them off, but they will be back once they learn of Martin's survival. Which they will..."

Tala had taken her face away from her hands and exchanged a look with Martin. They both understood what Jauffre was saying. "So where will Martin be safe, then?"

"Nowhere is truly safe against the power arrayed against us. But we must pray for time, at least... Cloud Ruler Temple, I think. The hidden fortress of the Blades, in the mountains near Bruma. A few men can hold it against an army. We should leave at once."

Tala put the palm of her hand onto her forehead as she slowly started to slide out of bed. "You'll have to give me a moment to find my feet, Jauffre. I'll get back into my armor, then we'll get moving."

"I understand, but please hurry. I won't rest easy until Martin is safe at Cloud Ruler Temple." And with that, he headed downstairs to prepare the horses.

Tala tried to stand, but it wasn't perfect with the waves of pain impacting her ability to stay balanced. She immediately plopped back down on the bed and the sudden loss of grace kept her from sitting. Martin put his hands up as she teetered back. Doing that supported her and kept her upright as she collected herself. When she tried to stand again, his hands slid to firmly grab her shoulder so that she couldn't move.

"You shouldn't try to sit up so quickly." He said.

"We need to get moving." She said as she looked down at the floor and mustered the strength to stand.

Martin let go and walked around the bed so he could stand in front of her. He held his hands out to her and said, "Let me help you up."

"That's okay. Just give me a moment and I can stand myself."

"You need help finding your feet again. Let me help."

"No."

That one word remark took him aback. "Why?" He asked astoundingly.

She really didn't have a solid answer for him. Truth was, having Martin offer his support to her actually made Tala feel like she was weak. Appearing weak and helpless in front of the person you're trying to protect was never the wisest idea, and she knew that.

"I can take care of myself." She said gently. "Just give me a moment."

Martin had hesitated for a moment before stepping off to the side. She tried standing again and this time she didn't waver backwards. Tala stood there for a moment before taking a deep breath and slowly walking towards the stairs.

"If you feel that you need more rest, it is okay to say so." Martin said. "You did take a serious hit."

"You're safety is what's important right now." She said. "I will rest as long as needed when we are at Cloud Ruler Temple."

Once she got to the first step, she took it very slowly. She stepped down without falling over, which had been a good sign. She thought everything was returning to normal, so she started heading down the stairs in a normal pace... until her muscles gave out and she stumbled forward. Martin caught her immediately by grabbing her arm with one hand and wrapping his other hand around her waist. He then pulled her up close to him in order to keep her from falling downward. Tala quickly turned around and grabbed a hold of Martin's collar as she hung on tight to him, waiting for her legs to steady themselves under her. Once she felt like she could stand again, she realized what she did and looked up at him.

Martin's cheeks had flushed with embarrassment. He would periodically open his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then stopped himself short. At that instant, Tala's cheeks flushed also, and the two just stood there on the third step with their bodies pressed tightly together. That was the longest minute of their lives. Neither one of them took their eyes off each other; both of them too stunned to move.

Martin finally mustered the ability to talk and asked, "Are you sure you don't need help?"

Tala remained still for a moment before she too found the ability to speak. "Maybe some help down the stairs would be a good idea for now."

He slowly pulled away from her and offered her his hand one more time. She slowly took it, and then let him be her crutch as she once again headed down the stairs.

When they reached the bottom, she slowly lifted her hand away from his and put it back down to her side. "Where's my armor and bags?" she asked.

"At the door, right there." He said, pointing to the said items over in the corner. Her armor was fixed and shining good as new; the dent in her helmet where the Mythic Dawn agent had struck her was nonexistent. "I repaired your armor while you were out. I'll let you get into it and I'll meet you over at the stables with Jauffre."

Tala looked from her things to Martin, then looked him up and down with a hesitant look. "You're in your robes... are you planning to suit up?"

"I ran out of supplies after fixing your armor. Yours was more important than mine. It was so badly beaten that I couldn't fix it by simply pounding out the dents, so I just discarded it. It served its purpose; I wanted the armor to get me to Weynon Priory alive, and that's just what it did. Jauffre said I wouldn't need it any longer now that I was here, so it was just as well."

She nodded and slowly made her way over towards her supplies. She took each step diligently as she felt her body getting used to walking again. Her head still ached, but she knew it would for a while. By the time she reached for her cuirass, she felt steadier on her feet. After taking a blow to the head, trying to get accustomed to moving around was much easier on flatter ground.

"I'll be waiting for you." Martin said. She didn't even have the chance to turn and face him before he had slipped out the door and left her to change.

Tala took a deep breath and sighed, and then she slowly worked on getting geared up. It took her a little while, but she was finally back into something more secure than a tunic and slacks that somebody had put her in. She wasn't sure exactly _whom_ had done it, and she never wanted to know. The thought made her cheeks turn bright pink, so she decided to focus on the long road ahead. She still had food and drinks; there were still potions and pestles for making potions along the way, spare daggers just incase... she would've preferred to at least have a few spare supplies for repairing armor, but she knew she had to work with what was available. With everything in check, she threw her bag over her shoulder, and walked outside.

* * *

Tala came out the stables in a very slow stride. She could walk without falling over, but she knew she wasn't ready to come flying out to meet everyone. Martin and Jauffre were tying down their packs to the saddles of their horses when she finally reached them. Brother Piner came out of the corral towards her with a beautiful paint horse following beside him.

"It's a long journey and you'll need a horse, so here is Prior Maborel's. Please take it, I know he would want you to take it, if it meant it would help you on your quest."

Tala blinked in surprise for a moment, but after letting it sink in she took the reins graciously from him. "Thank you. I will take good care of it."

"Strap your bags to the horse as quickly as you can. We mustn't waste any time." Jauffre said as politely as he could, but Tala could hear the hint of agitation in his voice.

Tala threw the reins across the horse's neck and proceeded to strap her bags to the saddle as the men climbed up on their horses. Jauffre began to walk ahead, but Martin waited and watched as Tala braced herself before she jumped up and swung her leg over. There was a minor pulse in her head from hopping up too fast. It amplified the headache, but she shut her eyes for a moment as she squeezed with her legs and moved forward.

When she opened her eyes she looked around to see Jauffre about ten yards ahead of her, but Martin was right beside her, keeping his eyes on her. The look on his face said he wasn't thinking anything, but Tala knew better.

"I'm alright." She said.

"I know." He said.

"I know what you're thinking."

"Oh? And what would I be thinking?"

"You're worried about me. I can see it in the way you keep an eye on me." Then a smile crossed her face and she added in a teasing manner, "As if you wanting to help me out of my bed and down the stairs like a gentleman wasn't plainly obvious enough."

Martin gave her a blank stare for the briefest of moments before a guilty smile crept onto his face and he casually scratched the back of his head and looked to the front. "You had my back since you saved Kvatch, its only fair that I look out for you just this once."

"Oh so you were returning the favor? How noble of you." She paused for a moment before adding sincerely, "I do thank you for your sympathy. Its nice to know I have a friend that I can count on."

Martin gave her a warm smile and replied, "You will always have me to count on. I assure you. Consider me more than a friend."

She could feel the heat rise to her cheeks, so she looked ahead and asked the Paint for a trot to catch up with Jauffre. Martin followed her lead.

_What did he mean by that?_ She thought rather hurriedly. _Was he trying to tell me something? Everything he's doing is obvious. Maybe he does feel the same way that I feel for him. Maybe that was his way of telling me so._

They caught up to Jauffre in no time and the horses were walking at a steady pace. Not another word was to be spoken until they had reached Cloud Ruler Temple and the immediate danger would be over... for now.


End file.
